https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:3500 Dogs understand the role of a human partner in a cooperative task Wallner Werneck Mendes, Juliana Juliana Wallner Werneck Mendes 0000-0003-3738-2164 University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Range, Friederike Friederike Range 0000-0003-3127-5536 University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Martínez, Mayte Mayte Martínez University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna / Georgia State University Vindevogel, Marie Marie Vindevogel Université de Rennes Cimarelli, Giulia Giulia Cimarelli 0000-0002-6031-0364 University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna van Peer, Ilka Ilka van Peer HAS University of Applied Sciences Nature text eng Humans are exceptionally flexible in cooperation, partly due to our ability to recognize the roles of cooperative partners. While some non-human animals understand the need for a partner in such interactions, it is unclear whether they grasp the consequences of their partner's actions and adjust accordingly. Previous studies utilizing economic games with non-human animals yielded mixed results. We investigated dogs, known for their close cooperation with humans, in a stag hunt game. Dogs could cooperate for better rewards or defect for lower ones, while their human partners would either cooperate, never cooperate, or act randomly. We control for attraction to food, side bias, and local enhancement. Dogs were more likely to coordinate with their partners when it led to better rewards, suggesting that they understood their partner's actions. By highlighting this cognitive skill in dogs, we advance our knowledge of the intricate mechanisms driving cooperative behavior in non-human animals. Animals; Dogs; Cooperative Behavior; Humans; Behavior, Animal Physiology; Reward; Male; Female http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/api/object/o:3500/download 10.1038/s41598-024-60772-6 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:605 application/pdf Scientific Reports 14(1) (2024) Scientific Reports 14 1 1.29 MB 2024